Defrosting apparatus



Aug. 18, 1931.

E. S. HEBELER DEFROSTING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 18, 1929 W, 4t m W m M Patented Aug. 18, f 1931 PATENT OFFICE EDWARD S. HEBELER, OF WILLIAMSVILLE, NEW YORK DEFBOSTING APPARATUS Application filed October 18, 1929. Serial No. 400,518.

This invention relates generally toa defrosting apparatus but more artlcularly to an apparatus designed for efrostin the brine pipes employed in cold storage p ants.

Its chief object is the provision of a portable, defrosting apparatus of this character which. is so designed and constructed as to efi'ect the defrosting of the brine pipes in cold storage rooms in a minimum period of time, with a reduction in the labor required, and without transferring goods from one room to another.

Another object of the invention is to provide a defrosting apparatus which can be readily conveyed from one room to another for individually defrosting the brine pipes therein, which is simple, compact, durable and inexpensive in construction, which is reliable and eflicient in operation, and which can be readily connected and disconnected from the piping to be defrosted.

- The accompanying drawing is a side view of the apparatus embodying my invention,

the same being shown partly dia rammatic and in connection with the brine plping to be defrosted.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 7

Referring to the drawin 10 indicates a coolin coil or piping whic is connected at its en s to the headers 11, 12, which in turn are connected to pipes 13 and 14 leading to the inlet and outlet mains 15, 16, respectlvely, of the brine supply, the brine being circulated through these parts in the usual manner for provlding the necessary refrigeration in the rooms of the cold storage plant. Interposed in the pipes 13, 14 are valves 17 for controlling the admission and discharge of brine to and from the cooling coil. During the defrosting of the coil these valves are shut off. I

Mounted on a portable truck 18 which may 5 be readily conveyed from place to place is a heater 19 through which the brine is adapted to be circulated for defrosting the coil 10. This heater may be of any appropriate construction that shown in the drawing bein of an electric type containing a brine ch'am er brine to be 20 and a heating coil 21 includedin an electric circuit 22 controlled by a switch 23 mounted on a panel 24 applied to the truck. Leading to the lower end of the brine chamber 20 1s a ipe 25 for the admission of the eated and connected to the upper end of said chamber is a pipe 26 through which the heated brine is discharged and thence circulated through the coohng coil for the purpose of defrosting it.

The brine for defrosting the cooling coil is the same brine which is circulated through it for cooling or refrigeration purposes and to eifect the circulation of this brine through the heater 19 a circulating pump 27 is employed, the same being driven by an electric motor or otherwise and being mounted on the truck 18 alongside said heater. The discharge end of this pump is connected to the brine inlet pipe 25 leading to the brine chamber of the heater, while its inlet end is connected by a pipe 28 with the pipe 14 which connects the header 12 with the main 16. The discharge pipe 2.6 through which the heated brine is conducted from the heater to the coil 10 is connected to the pipe 13'joining the header 11 with the main 15. Interposed in the ipes 26 and 28 are cut-off valves 29 whic are closed during the normal refrigerating period and which are opened during the defrosting period. These pipes preferably include flexible sections 30, 31 which may be readily coupled to suitable fittings 32 depending from the valves 29.

A thermostat 33 is preferably included in the electric circuit 22 to automatically shut off the heater when the temperature of the brine has been heated sufiiciently to defrost the coil. This thermostat is ap lied to the pipe 28 connecting the coil with t e pump 27 and is included in a branch circuit containing an electromagnet 34 which, when energized by closing theauxiliary switch 35, automatically closes the heater control switch 23 to bring the heating coil 21 into operation. A spring 36 applied to said switch 23 acts to open it when the thermostat contacts are broken as a result of the brine being raised to the desired predetermined temperature for defrosting.

Briefly stated the operation of this improved defrosting apparatus is as follows The truck 18 is moved to the cold storage room whose cooling coil is to be defrosted and the flexible pipe sections 30, 31 are coupled to the fittings 32 adjacent the valves 29 which control the circulation of the heated brine through the coil. The valves 17 in the pipes 13, 14 are now closed to cut off the circulation of the cooling brine through the coil 10, and the valves 29 are opened to permit the brine remaining in the coil to be circulated through the heater 19 so that its temperature is raised sufficiently to defrost the cooling coil. The circulating pump 27 is started and the heater circuit 22 closed in the manner heretofore described. The circulation of the heated brine through the heater and coil 10 then continues until the latter is defrosted, the heater being automatically shut off by the thermostat 33 when the desired predetermined brinetemperature has been reached. The brine is preferably heated to a temperature of between 32 .and 35 degrees F. and this temperature is automatically maintained by the thermostat. At this temperature the brine acts to break the bond between the ice and the coil so that the ice and frostcan be readily removed by tapping it, but'the temperature is not such as to cause melting and dripping of the frost from the coil. After the defrosting operation is completed, the circulating pump is stopped, the valves 29 are closed, the flexible pipe-sections 30, 31 are detached, and the valves 17 opened, whereby the cooling brine is again circulated through the coil to frost it.

While manifestly simple and compact in construction, this portable defrosting apparatus is easy to handle; it effects the defrosting of the cooling coils in a minimum period of time; it enables the defrosting of the coils in one storage room without disturbing the others; and it eliminates the transfer of goods from the room while the defrosting operation is in progress.

I claim as my invention An apparatus for defrosting the cooling coils in coldstorage plants, said coils including valves for controlling the admission and discharge of the cooling brine to and from the same, comprising a portable frame, a heating chamber mounted on said frame and having inlet and outlet pipes connected thereto, means for detachably joining said pipes to the cooling coil at a point between the same and their controlling valves, valves in said pipes for controlling the passage of the brine in the coil through said chamber, and a pump interposed in one of said pipes for circulating the heated brine through the coil to defrost EDWARD s. HEBELER. 

